In the Silence
by wolfsrainrules
Summary: The one in which Ichigo can dance and one slow step at a time everyone else finds out. DRABBLE SERIES (MAJOR AU. PACK DYNAMICS and 'good' Espada)
1. Chapter 1

Ichigo had a bit of a hobby. A hobby no one had ever seen. Not his blood family, not his friends, not his pack. No one knew about it. But Ichigo…Ichigo _loved _ it.

He loved the freedom in it. He loved the controlled movement, the strength, the grace, and the trust between partners. The _stories_ it told.

Ichigo loved to dance.

When most people heard 'dance' Ichigo knew they tended to think of ballroom or fast paced hip-hop or pop, and while he was perfectly capable of it, neither class of dance were Ichigo's first or even second favorite type. Ichigo knew most people would assume he danced to the fast paced quick upbeat tunes. Music that used quick action packed movements. Again- Ichigo _can_ he is capable of it, even _good_ at it, but Ichigo prefers something else.

Ichigo loved Contemporary Dance and Ballet.

The slow, powerful, graceful, controlled movements, the _story_, the _emotion_ in the dance, the way Ichigo could be swept away not only into the sounds of the music but also in the moments of _silence_.

It was beautiful to him.

And it was _his_.

He had discovered it by accident. He was 10 at the time, a year after his mother had passed. He had passed by a dance studio with a demonstration or a competition happening through the window- he had never found out- but he had seen a couple through the window preforming a Contemporary routine.

He had watched, completely mesmerized as the two people had flowed from one position to another, had fallen towards the floor with no hesitation trusting their partner to _be there_, as they jumped and flew and twisted around each other telling a story with emotions conveyed in every little movement and lift…

Right then and there Ichigo had fallen in love with what he had seen.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

**Ok. So. I LOVED the idea of Ichigo flowing through the movements of a Contemporary Dance Routine. It's beautiful to me and I haven't found any so I am making it. MAJOR AU and PACK DYNAMICS. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Yo. I do not own Bleach or any songs I use. **_**This is song lyrics**_.** I am not a professional or trained dancer in any way (Not that it stops me from trying) so please no one take offence. If anyone wants to send me a PM with actual names for dance moves and a quick explanation of the move it would be loved.**

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Ichigo worked hard for the opportunity to join the studio and learn. He still worked hard at his martial arts- he had a promise to keep after all- but he made some time to work at the studio as well.

He found that dance relaxed him. It was something he could use to communicate with _anyone_ when words failed him or when he became overwhelmed and needed to _do_ something. So Ichigo poured himself into both dance and martial arts and he flourished.

A year into learning about dance Ichigo was offered a place in the local Contemporary Dance competition for all ages. His Sensei explained the rules and what would be expected of him if he participated in the 'Junior Division' since he was 11 years old. Ichigo had agreed to enter, but he had found himself confused about what he should dance.

In the end Ichigo found his choice when the light of dawn woke him and upon stumbling downstairs he had stared at the large poster of his mother.

It all clicked in his head.

His mother.

Ichigo made the choice that his first routine would be dedicated to his mother. All he needed was the music and he could start putting things together. Ichigo searched for the next few days through all sorts of music, wondering if he would actually find anything. He wondered if he should dance as if he was his mother, as if he could speak to her, as if he could share everything he had been through since that day in the rain. It was while he pondered this that he found the song that spoke to him the music that called to him and filled him with the urge to dance and communicate wordlessly.

In the Arms of an Angel.

When he heard it, it spoke to him not only of his inner struggle since that day, but of his sadness and his wish that wherever his mother was, she had found peace and rest.

O~O~O~O~

The day of the competition Ichigo ended up dressed in black pants that flowed with every movement he made without getting in the way and a tattered dark silver shirt that was carefully made so that any time Ichigo moved a certain way it appeared as if he had wings.

He waited for his number to be called where he would be escorted to the stage to give his name and age since the Junior Division of the competition was set up so no one saw someone perform before they performed themselves. Soon enough he was standing in front of the judges and audience giving his name and age before being told to be begin.

Ichigo pulled himself into his starting position and waited for his cue to begin in the music.

_**Spend all your time waiting for that second chance**_

Ichigo started with slow soft gliding movements pushing all his sadness and the wish that he could speak _just one more time_ to his mother.

_**For a break that would make it okay there's always some reason to feel not good enough and it's hard at the end of the day**_

He shifted, extending hands and feet dipping backwards following the movement with the rest of his body silently conveying his wish that he had been _better_ that day in the rain and a silent promise that he _would be_ better now and later for himself, his family, and his future pack.

_**I need some distraction -oh beautiful release- memories seep from my veins**_

He continued the backwards motion of his body his hands helping him to shift so he was settled on his feet again where she moved fluidly into a leap his shirt extending behind him into 'wings'. He landed the leap on his right foot continuing the motion and momentum so he flipped over, his left leg extending up and over to the floor.

_**Let me be empty and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight…**_

He arched his back and extended back slow and fluid until he lay on the floor every movement fueled by his memories of the first few days after his mother's death. He _remembered_ how empty and removed he felt for everything and everyone around him. He remembers wishing it was a dream and even that it had been _him_ to have fallen instead. He pushed all these feelings into his movements, arching his lower body so he could gracefully flip his legs up over his head into a split and holding it for just a moment before he landed lightly and elegantly onto his feet.

_**In the arms of the angel fly away from here. From this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear.**_

Ichigo continues the movement he started as he came to land on his feet, so that he is facing the ceiling his 'wings' dangle down towards the floor. He carefully turns, keeping the movements slow and graceful, starting the turn towards the audience leading with his head before the rest of his body follows into a spin before moves into a second leap.

_**You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie**_

As soon as his foot lands from his leap he moves his body as if he had been grabbed and pulled forward out into the light after being trapped for a long time in the dark with no one. He slowed his movements a hand extended up and out above his head grasping the air as if he was holding a hand, timing the 'grasp' with another small leap as if he had been pulled up and out.

He remembers this feeling very well. The day he managed to take a breath and instead of all-encompassing pain it was only a pulsing throb in time with his heart. The day he realized _'Mom is gone, but Yuzu and Karin still need me.'_

_**You're in the arms of the angel may you find some comfort here**_

He leaned back fluid and slow as if he was coming to rest finally in an invisible hold his eyes closing and his 'wings' unfurling behind him, stilling just as the 'wing tips' touched the floor he edited song clip coming to a close.

Ichigo would swear until the day he died and after that for just a moment, a silent cherished moment, he felt his mother's arms holding him close to her chest cradled and loved as she had done in life.

The judges' comments didn't even register with him at all. Ichigo was still basking in the feeling of his mother's arms holding him close. In the relief of letting her know, in an abstract kind of way, that Ichigo…was _okay_. He was moving, he had found _purpose_ in protecting his sisters, and a place for _him_ in dance. That he no longer wished it had been _him_ to fall that day so long ago.

That everything would be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo had been raised knowing he was an Alpha and one day he would find his pack. Everyone had a pack that waited for them.

Every pack was predetermined. The pack was a puzzle and each member was a piece waiting to be found that fit exactly. All the pack would be drawn together in some way, but it was the Alpha's job to actually _find_ the pack members and pull them together.

The very first pack member Ichigo found was one Yasutora 'Chad' Sado. Ichigo can't really explain the feel of _rightness_ that swept over him in Chad's presence. He couldn't explain how _right_ it felt to have Chad at his side or at his back working together with him. Chad was _his_. His to protect like his family. Chad was his brother.

A vow was made.

_When you fight, when you have something to protect, I will fight at your side. I will protect you and all that you hold dear with everything that I am._

It was a vow both boys took very seriously.

Ichigo brought Chad back to his house shortly afterwards and introduced Chad to his family with the warning "They're a little crazy."

Yuzu ended up cooking up a mini-feast to celebrate when she found out that Chad was part of Ichigo's pack, his dad had thrown himself at the poster of his mother and sobbed about 'milestones in our son's life', and Karin had stared Chad down for a few seconds before turning to her brother and declaring him 'alright'. By the end of the feast, Chad had been accepted into Ichigo's family and Chad found himself enjoying 'a little crazy.'

Everyone had quickly learned that if they attacked one of the boys they might as well have attacked the other.

Chad had learned quickly that sometimes Ichigo would disappear for a while, but when he came back Ichigo was always calm and relaxed and happy so Chad never brought it up.

Ichigo appreciated the fact that Chad let him have his privacy and never bugged him about what he was doing or where he was going. That Chad took in the fact that when Ichigo came back from dancing he was happy and relaxed and left it at that.

It wasn't that Ichigo was ashamed of what some would call a 'girly' hobby or tying to be secretive about it, but Ichigo liked that fact that no one was there to interrupt him when he used dance to unwind and relax and vent. (honestly- anyone that watched a man dance could tell it wasn't _girly_ to be able to lift and swing a hundred and something pounds of partner around thank you very much)

He knew eventually someone was going to figure out where he went and what he was doing, but until that moment Ichigo would stay quiet about it and cherish the time he had.


End file.
